


Heart

by KaRaEa



Category: Smallville
Genre: Lana Lang is not a fairy princess, M/M, Mentions of attraction to an underage person, Underage Drinking, timelines and continuity are for people who get paid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 19:49:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13038189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaRaEa/pseuds/KaRaEa
Summary: It's Clark's 18th birthday. The day Lex has awaited patiently, and admittedly somewhat creepily, for nearly 3 years. Today is the day, or rather tonight is the night Lex tells him the truth, lays it all out there consequences be damned.





	Heart

**Author's Note:**

> The name is because this was inspired by a power ballad by Heart but 'Alone' doesn't really have the vibe I'm looking for in a name. And it is 2:20 in the morning, I have to be at work for 8:00 for a 14 hour shift, and I'm posting this instead of writing my 3k word essay.
> 
> My life choices are questionable at best.

It's Clark's 18th birthday. The day Lex has waited patiently, and admittedly somewhat creepily for, for nearly 3 years. Today is the day, or rather tonight is the night Lex tells him the truth, lays it all out there consequences be damned. It's been a long time coming and every part of Lex thrums with anticipation and nervousness. He's planned this so thoroughly, even allowing for teenage or Clarkian shenanigans, to ensure that it goes the absolute best way possible. 

 Which is why, when he pulls up in front of the farm and finds a party in full swing despite Clark's parents insisting he hold the party on a weekend and only see close friends and family on the day itself, he's more than a little miffed. 

"Lex!" Clark yells from the front porch, a tacky party hat proclaiming his newly reached age perched lopsidedly on top of his ruffled hair. He jumps the railing and runs over to Lex's car (Clark's favourite, deliberately pickedin case Clark wanted a ride) before Lex has fully exited the vehicle. "Lois planned a surprise party for  me, isn't it great?!"

At least that explained why he never received an invitation to the party. Though, interestingly, Clark's revealing it to him in those words implied he knew Lex wouldn't have been invited. "It's something," Lex evades the question. "When did this all start?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I tried to call you but you weren't answering your phone. I guess my dad's lectures on driving safely have finally started to sink in," Clark babbles excitedly. 

And, well, not so much. Lex left his cell at home in case some emergency threatened his plans with an ill timed call. Lex just smiles noncommittally and looks around at the teens draped over the porch and dotted around the general vicinity of the house. 

Clark  follows his gaze and scratches the back of his head. "I know, there're so many of them. I don't think my folks realised Lois would be inviting this many people when they agreed to the party," He admits. "I don't even know some of these people."

"Are your parents around?" Lex asks. It's a sad state of affairs, but currently he'd rather spend the duration of the party talking to Clark's parents in whatever area of the farm they've sequestered themselves in than socialise with all these people. Gone are the days when this was what he sought out night after night. Although part of it may be caused by the kind of people making up the party. Smallville teens were hardly Lex's preferred choice of companion. Barring one or two in particular of course. But then no one can seem to help liking Lana, Lex suspects it may be some kind of mutant power. And Clark...Clark is something else altogether.

"Nah, Lois convinced them to stay at a hotel in Metropolis overnight. Don't ask me how. They should be halfway there by now." Clark doesn't seem sure if he's more thankful to Lois or more worried about how she managed to get the wholesome Kents to leave their 18 year old to have an unsupervised party in their house. "Oh! I don't think Lana is here. Maybe Lois forgot to invite her..."

Lex snickers to himself. Lois is so blatant he'd be embarrassed for her if he didn't think she was immune to all forms of embarrassment or shame. Lana, while not the leading lady in Clark's life for well over a year, was Clark's first love, something Lois could never be. Seemingly this was enough to circumvent whatever magic Lana Lang's smiles and strange curtsy-nods wrought where Lois was concerned. For a moment Lex wonders if somehow Lois had known Lex's plans and devised this whole production in order to thwart him. Somehow Lex wouldn't be wholly surprised.

Clark is halfway back to the house before he turns and impatiently gestures Lex after him. Lex shoots a smug look at Lois as they pass her on her way out of the house.

"Have you seen Lana at all today?" Lex asks as he follows Clark up to his parents' room to use the phone in peace.

"Nope, I dropped by the Talon but she's not working today," Clark says. Then the phone picks up and Lex loses his attention again.

While Clark fills Lana in on the party and how her invitation must have been lost in the mail, Lex takes the opportunity to look around the Kent's marital bedroom. It's the only room of the house, including the outbuildings, that Lex has never seen and he's curious. 

It's homey, but very cliched homey. Almost like this is a room decorated by someone who knows what a farmhouse is supposed to look like and wants to make it fit. Like someone styled it after the Waltons. Lex is nearly certain Martha decorated it, and that somehow, somewhere, there's a drawer of kinky shit. If Clark weren't in the room with him he'd be tempted to try to confirm his hypothesis. 

"We should go get you a drink. Lois had some older friends bring beer," Clark tells him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back out of the room. 

There is indeed a keg of beer and a couple of six packs in the kitchen. Jonathan Kent would have another heart attack if he knew how Lois was debauching his goody-two-shoes son. Or maybe he'd be fine with it given Lois is a female non-Luthor.

"I'll just take a water," Lex says when offered the alcohol. More so he can tell the Kents exactly what went down and that he wasn't involved than because he has a problem with drinking with teenagers. He and Lana once got furiously drunk on his good brandy while going over the cost of repairs for the Talon after a mutant attack the insurance refused to cover.

Clark looks almost disappointed.

He's less disappointed when Lois finally catches up with them and drags him off to play a drinking game. 

Lex sighs and goes to stand outside on his own like the social outcast he is. He just needs maybe 15 minutes alone with Clark. Is that too much to ask? Eventually he begs a mobile phone off one of the teens on the porch, who looks worried about what Lex might do if he refuses to lend the phone, and calls Lana to offer her a lift. She'll be late enough as it is given time to get ready and she doesn't have a car. It also gives him an excuse to leave the party for awhile and get away from the view of Lois hanging over Clark's shoulder.

Lana lets him wait in the apartment lounge while she finishes her makeup, having stopped to make him a coffee (at least he thinks it's a coffee. She's an incredibly quick learner on the business front, but she'll probably always be awful at making beverages) in between. 

"Do you really think he doesn't know?" Lana calls from the other room. "I though he was just trying to let her down gently by not responding."

Lex laughs at that. The idea of Clark being able to act normal around a beautiful woman he knows is trying to get in his pants is hilarious. "No, I genuinely think he's clueless. It's not exactly the first time this has happened."

Lana makes the vocal equivalent of a grimace. "Poor Chloe."

"In all fairness, she was a lot more subtle than Lois," Lex says.

Lana giggles a little at that. "That's not difficult. Lois couldn't be more obvious if she covered herself in whipped cream and posed on his bed. And he'd probably just apologise for interrupting whatever she was doing and leave the room."

The mental image makes Lex shudder. 

"Can you zip me up?" Lana requests, leaving her room in a red dress that leaves very little to the imagination and is more suited to a cocktail party than a kegger. Which makes sense as she bought it for the Talon's anniversary party a month ago, which was a much more formal event than Lois' surprise birthday bash. 

"Showing off, much?" Lex raises an eyebrow.

Lana shrugs. "I don't like being snubbed. If I'm forced to arrive fashionably late then I'll do it in style."

In other words Lana is going to steal the limelight and look better than Lois at her own party. Lex shakes his head. Lana could give a Luthor a run for his money on mind games.

"Be my arm candy?" Lex asks her. "After all, us gatecrashers ought to stick together."

"Of course," Lana says, even taking his arm on the short walk out to the car.

 

When they get back to the party the drinking games are still going, though Clark looks no worse for the wear even though in the time they've been gone he has to have had his fair share of the beer.

Lana walks straight up to him with no regard for the game or how she's interrupting it and presents Clark with his gift and a hug. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Clark smiles. He leaves the gift unopened for now and tries to pull Lana back down to sit with him. "We're playing Never Have I Ever. Play with us."

"No thanks, I'm going to go get a drink. Take a break and come talk to us?" Lana extracts herself and migrates back to Lex's side.

Lois' glare when Clark nods in agreement only needs a dose of meteor mutation to put Lana's life in real danger.

It's strange to Lex, just how aggressive Lois can be. Last time he saw Lois and Lana together was in the Talon and Lois was gushing to Lana about how much she loved her for having late opening hours.

"I'm not great at this game anyway," Clark admits. "I haven't taken a drink in nearly twenty minutes."

"Virgin!" One of the football players from the highschool yells to a chorus of drunken laughter.

Clark smiles self-consciously and leads the way into the kitchen. "With the surprise party, I don't really need to have a party this weekend," He starts. "So I was wondering if maybe you guys, Chloe and Lois might drop by. We could watch some movies or something."

"Sure," Lana agrees easily. "Just let me know what time in advance this time so I can make sure I get the time off. Things have been crazy at the Talon."

The dig is no less true for its intention. Since Lana came back to run the Talon the place has been flooded with people. Whatever she learned in France or in the few months she's been back in Smallville seems to have paid off for the business.

Clark grimaces. "I'm sorry about the mix up. There's a lot of people, I'm sure Lois just forgot."

"I'm sure," Lex agrees dryly.  

Lana smiles and nods good naturedly, adding one of her little bobbing curtsies for good measure.

"But you can choose the time. It doesn't really matter to me, I've got the whole weekend," Clark says obligingly.

"Thanks, I'll check my schedule and let you know," Lana replies. It's a little disconcerting how easily she makes it look, getting Clark to hand over his birthday celebration to her and still seeming sweet as anything.

And then another partygoer pulls Clark away again, leaving Lana and Lex stood in the kitchen with equally exasperated expressions.

"Since when has Clark been this popular?" Lana asks.

"He's not. Lois is," Lex points out. "She invited all these people."

"Is Chloe even here?" Lana follows up with.

"I'd imagine so, or Clark would have invited her when he invited you," Lex guesses. For all he knows Clark is addled enough by all the attention that he's forgotten his best friend.

Lana shakes her head. "I used to like Lois, but she's so..."

"Possessive? Controlling?" Lex suggests.

Lana grimaces in agreement. 

"I thought those were qualities I embodied, but in comparison to Lois..." Lex shrugs and reaches for a beer. Screw it. It's not like the Kents would ever believe he abstained anyway.

"I kind of feel sorry for her," Lana says, "he obviously doesn't feel the same way."

Lex regards her in silence for a moment, waiting for her to continue. He's been obvious enough over the years, he doesn't need the indignity of begging for reassurance over Clark's feelings for someone else.

Sure enough, Lana continues. "He finds her attractive, sure, he's an 18 year old guy." She pauses, looks at Lex and amends, "an 18 year old guy who is interested in girls. But Clark is...pretty obsessive when he's into someone. I should know."

"He does seem less infatuated than he was with you," Lex agrees.

"Or Chloe, or Jesse, or Kyla. Or even Alicia," Lana says. She gives a half laugh at whatever internal monologue she's running. "Oliver, too. Really, whatever feelings he has for Lois, they must come from something other than genuine love. Maybe she's a stand in or a beard."

Lex shakes off the reference to Oliver Queen. He'd rather forget all about his existence. As successful as he's been in this regard, it only now occurs to him to check if Queen is at the party or not.

"He's not here," Lana says when she notices his seemingly less than subtle scan of all visible areas. "Clark was complaining a week or so ago that Oliver was going to be out of town for his birthday."

Lana is one of the very few people Lex has ever told about his history with his childhood bully. It became necessary during a full blown argument over Oliver's near constant presence in the Talon soon after his arrival in Smallville. He'd practically kicked Oliver out over Lana's protestations. He'd had to explain what was going on and apologise for interfering with her job and the argument had ended very firmly with Lana as the victor, yet Lex couldn't help but notice that he didn't see Oliver around the Talon again for quite a while. He also noticed that whenever he saw Lana and Oliver in the same place Oliver seemed... perturbed.

"...You wouldn't have anything to do with his sudden absence?" Lex double checks.

Lana turns her syrupy brown eyes on him and furrows her smooth brow ever so slightly. "What could I have had to do with it?"

Lex thinks better of replying.

"You know," Lana begins in a tone far too innocent for Lex not to be immediately on guard. "Now that Clark's 18..."

"What?" Lex asks despite his caution.

"Nothing really," Lana says too convincingly to be convincing. "I was just thinking, Clark's never really been... available. And maybe now that he's 18..." She stops. "It's silly really, I don't know why he'd be waiting for that."

Lex doesn't know whether to narrow his eyes or smirk. Cluelessness has always suited Lana. It's a shame it's so rarely genuine. "Are you insinuating something, Miss Lang?"

"I'm just...making an observation," Lana says. 

"When did you stop being Smallville's resident airheaded damsel, anyway?" Lex asks. 

Lana laughs. "Around the same time Smallville's resident hero lost interest in me. Funny how that works."

It's comfortable, being around Lana. She's the polar opposite of him according to what everyone sees. He's the dangerously clever rich man with ulterior motives, a villain to anyone who likes the straightforward, and she's the lovable but hopeless damsel in distress, an annoyance to anyone who dislikes the culture of fairy princess cheerleaders. But that's exactly why they're so similar. When he first started teaching Lana self-defence he'd sensed it, that frustration with the role she was forced into. Lana once confided in him that she hated the orphaned fairy princess in the papers. 

"You know," Lana says again after a moment, drawing the conversation back. "Whatever he's waiting for, it might come a little faster if someone were to distract Lois."

"It might," Lex agrees.

Lana straightens, squeezing his arm as she heads out, presumably be the 'someone'. 

A moment later, Lex hears a screech, followed by Lana's all too natural apologies. He follows the sounds out of the kitchen in time to see Lana lead Lois, now covered in sticky soda, towards the bathroom. Lana shoots him a small smile as he catches her eye.

Lex takes the moment while he has it. "Clark, could I steal a moment of your time?"

Clark obligingly excuses himself and they head to Clark's room, where it's relatively quiet. "What's up, Lex?"

"Could you sit down?" Lex requests softly, unintentionally changing his tone as if trying to reassure Clark. If anything it only prompts an expression of worry that wasn't there before.

Still, Clark sits. 

"I have something to confess," Lex begins. "And I apologise in advance for any discomfort it may cause. I want to reassure you that not one moment of our friendship was false, I care for you in all the ways I have ever said or implied. You are the best friend I have ever had."

"Lex..." Clark says, then stops. He looks almost scared. "What is this about?"

"I know we swore not to keep secrets, but I kept this one for good reason. I always intended to tell you, but I thought it best to wait until telling you wouldn't risk getting myself arrested," Lex tries to explain, attempting to force himself to come to the point. Seeing Clark sitting there on the bed with a worried frown throws him. A large part of him wants to just forget the whole idea and leave things as they are. But he swore to himself that this day would come and that his patience would be rewarded, if only by not feeling like a dirty cradle robber. "So here we  are. I'm telling you. Or trying to."

"Are you okay? Are... are we okay?" Clark asks.

"We're fine, Clark. Presuming that you're fine with what I have to tell you and don't fly into a gay panic rage," Lex says. 

"Gay panic?" Clark's faint frown becomes a pronounced one. "Are you trying to come out to me?"

"Yes," Lex admits and opens his mouth to admit the rest. Nothing comes out.

Clark nods. "Are you sure you're gay though? I mean you really seem to like girls and all, could you maybe be-"

"Bisexual," Lex says at the same time as Clark. "Again, yes."

Wonderful, innocent Clark shrugs. "I pretty much already guessed that. Or, well my dad did anyway."

Lex grimaces. "I'm sure he had a lot to say on the subject."

"Not really, just that he wondered if you were supposed to be out or not," Clark says. "And, well the whole 'don't let him talk you into anything you don't want to do' talk. I'm pretty sure he thought we were dating for a little while."

Lex doesn't know what to say to that. Not a syllable of a reply forms in his head, he's just left staring at Clark.

"Mom and Dad are actually pretty cool with the sexuality thing," Clark says with an easy smile. 

"Oh," Lex replies eloquently. 

Clark laughs a little at the look on Lex's face, which Lex is sure is an expression unbecoming of a Luthor but he can't help it. "Lex, I know we're country folk and all, but we do live right by a major city and we do move with the times. Were you really worried I'd have a gay panic?"

Lex doesn't know how worried he was on that score, he knows Clark is a decent person. Time to bite the bullet. "I was... concerned about how you might react, yes, but that concern is more centered around the other part of what I have to tell you."

Clark straightens his face and tries to look serious, though he's obviously humouring Lex. "And what is that?"

"I'm in love with you," Lex finally, finally says. It's nowhere near how he wanted this to go. He can still hear the obnoxious party music and the occasional burst of drunken laughter, and they're in Clark's room where they could be interrupted at any moment. But he's alone with Clark, and he's told him how he feels so the goal of the evening has been met at least.

It's Clark's turn to lose his words. "Oh."

"I don't expect you to reciprocate, of course," Lex quickly adds. "But I promised myself I would tell you when you turned 18, so I have. I hope this won't affect our friendship too badly."

Green eyes don't stray from Lex's face for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Why did you wait until now to tell me?"

"Because it's creepy enough having feelings for your underage best friend, without making them deal with those feelings," Lex says. It's obvious to him, but perhaps Clark hadn't considered how his age could affect things. "I wanted to wait until you were legally able to tell me yes, no or go to hell. The age of consent exists for a reason, Clark. Teenagers can be very easy to manipulate, even unintentionally, and I wanted to avoid manipulating you."

"Technically I am still a teenager," Clark points out, but his tone is teasing so Lex allows himself to relax. Clark can't have reacted negatively to the revelation if he's teasing Lex already.

"Yes, well." 

"And the age of consent is 16 here," Clark adds.

Lex shakes his head. "Only for heterosexual relationships."

"Really?" Clark frowns. "Huh. My parents never told me that."

"Why would they?" Lex says. "They might not even be aware themselves. Though I'm sure they soon would have made themselves aware had I tried anything with their 16 year old son."

Clark laughs again. "I told you, at one point they thought you had."

That is an interesting thought, considering Lex never received any more warnings to stay away from their son than they usually gave him. But then if they had seen through his attraction early on that could well explain why the usually open and accepting Kents had always been so set against him. 

"Besides, you haven't really 'tried anything' as it is," Clark says. He stands up and steps in front of Lex. "Did you want to?"

"What?" Lex says, still stuck in his thoughts regarding the Kents.

"Did you want to try something? Or were you just planning on telling me and nobly walking away from the whole thing?" Clark says.

"You spend too much time with Chloe," Lex complains. "You sound just like her sometimes."

"Stop deflecting," Clark tells him. "You said you don't expect me to reciprocate, not that you don't hope I will."

"Of course I hope you will! Clark, you're the most important person in my life. Before I met you I didn't do friendships or honesty, then you came along and I couldn't help wanting to be the friend you deserve," Lex says, heart beating fast because this wasn't a question a friend asked of another friend without some degree of intent to follow through, surely? "I waited three years to tell you that I love you. I want you with everything I am, but I would rather live the rest of my life without knowing what it feels like to kiss you, than pressure you into something and have to live the rest of my life without you."

Clark smiles again at that, a small, pleased smile. "But you would prefer to know what it's like to kiss me, right? So kiss me."

Who is Lex to refuse an offer like that? He kisses Clark, boldly and passionately in case this is the only kiss he gets, in case this kiss is a test of some kind. If Lex has a chance to win Clark over with this kiss then he's going to give it his all.

"You didn't need to wait, you know," Clark confides. "I would have said yes if you'd asked me at 15. Though my folks probably wouldn't have liked it very much."

"They probably still won't," Lex sighs and leans his forehead against Clark's. Clark is hunched a little to compensate for their height difference but he doesn't seem about to complain so Lex doesn't say anything about it.

"I dunno," Clark says. "Between you and Lois and my pretty bad history with women I think they've kind of resigned themselves to the idea that I'm not going to marry Lana after all."

Lex thinks of how the Kents would feel about Lana if they knew her the way Lex does and can't help but laugh. "I'm really not sure that it would have been better if you had."

Clark shrugs. "Let them have their fantasies."

"As long as I can have the reality," Lex agrees.


End file.
